Musk Quest, the Best White Musk You Haven't Tried: Royal White Musk by Abdul Karim Al Faransi Maison de Parfum

Except for Narciso Rodriguez I can't think of any other mainstream perfume house obsessed with musk. Go to niche and indie there is a definite love of musk there with quite a few specializing or putting out their magnum opus scents based on a beloved type of musk. If you were to take a survey of these magnum opus musks I would say probably 80% would be their idea of the perfect white musk. White musk may be the most known and liked of the musks, with good reason, it is easy, likable, and usually melds perfectly with wearers. There is a reason why people will devote time and effort to finding the best variation of it. It is the reason that when you look at mainstream releases of the last ten years a good chunk of them list white musk as a note. White musk has also been degraded to a screechy hot mess in many mainstream perfume releases. In niche and indie white musk is usually not all that innovative and especially in some large niche houses it is put out as a money making offering that really you are paying for the name of the house, not the perfume because if you really had smelled it you would have realized you could have probably gotten this perfume at your local health food store for about $15. My point is white musk is a ubiquitous, much maligned note. Finding a perfumer who elevates it to something more is rare.

Royal White Musk by Al Faransi is for me one of those rare elevated white musks. This is the musk for those that have been looking for an erudite, intellectual, refined, and tasteful white musk. There will be no accusation of cheap white musk with this scent.

Instead wearing this is finding yourself surrounded by the perfect melange of clean florals, creamy but pristine musk, and refined sandalwood. There is no laundrette quality to this musk rather the suggestion is the immaculately recently bathed. Yet, before you go on thinking that this scent is cold and unapproachable it isn't, no this is quiet tasteful serenity. This is clearly a scent meant to be worn anywhere, the point is the wearer will simply be known for smelling very good.  Royal White Musk is the other Al Faransi offering that I think deserves a following. It wouldn't surprise me if some sort of fashion maker found this offering and made it the "it" cult musk. Royal White Musk is a scent that is waiting to be discovered by a larger audience.

Try if you like white musk, Clair de Musc by Serge Lutens, Musk to Musk by Montale, or Essence by Narciso Rodriguez.

First image from alfaransi.com
Second image from http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/rainbow-clouds-united-kingdom
Third image from http://artistaday.com/?p=25737

Snippet Reviews: Abdul Karim Al Faransi Maison de Parfum edition

Musk Warda N.3
If you are a fan of clean rose scents and clean musk scents then this scent is for you. Very much a dewy rose scent with leanings toward the tea rose category, but thankfully nothing overbearing. Definitely of the aldehydic musk variety. Try if you like Serge Luten's Clair de Musc or Sonoma Scent Studio's Velvet Rose.

Hind
Sample this immediately if you love Parfum d'Empire's Ambre Russe or Ava Luxe's now legendary long discontinued Madame X. This has the rich baroque spice and amber of Ambre Russe combined with the slinky animalic labdanum and leather of Madame X. The florals used remind me a bit of Caron's Narcisse Noir, a rather narcotic combination of grape-y orange blossom and jasmine with an herbal rose. Very animalic.

Musk Abiyad Optimum
Ever wanted to smell a white musk of high caliber ingredients, such as when a perfumer is using good quality ambrette? Then this scent is for you. I imagine this is originally what white musk smelled like before the note became overtaken by the laundry detergent note that has over the years taken over white musk. An intensely animalic anise opening that settles into a pure white musk note. If you consider yourself a true white musk aficionado then you need to try this.

Musk Al-Qurtabi
If you want a musk with an intense floral opening a la the grape florals as I like to call them, a combination of orange blossom and jasmine, then this musk is for you. Unfortunately this blend never really settled on me so I really couldn't tell you about the musk. My floral wonky skin didn't really allow me to enjoy this.

Habibati
If you love Jeffrey Dame's New Musk or Narciso by Narciso Rodriguez this scent is worth your time which tells you it is not for me. It has that unique musk on me that goes strangely screechy.

Image by Olaf Hajek

Musk Quest: Musk Tahara Al Faransi by Abdul Karim Al Faransi Maison de Parfum

I have often jokingly said that if heaven has a scent it would be the scent of the Italian hazelnut liquor Frangelico. It is one of the most delicious things you will ever smell and over the years I have often wondered why the hazelnut note found in Frangelico is not used more often in perfumery. Well the thing is when hazelnut is used as a note in perfumes most of the time it is in the form of nutella on steroids, overbearing, intensely sweet, and frequently paired with chocolate; not what I want to smell like.

So let us bask for a moment in the genius use of hazelnut, lemon verbena, and lemon used in Musk Tahara Al Faransi. This perfume uses hazelnut in all its perfect nuttiness to create a sublime cuddly musk.  Al Faransi has made an excellent argument in Musk Tahara Al Faransi that hazelnut is an underused note to use in musk based scents.  Hazelnut combined with a candied lemon verbena followed by delicious zingy creamy lemon makes Musk Tahara Al Faransi have one of the most unique openings I have smelled in a musk in very long time. Musk Tahara Al Faransi is a part of the white musk family, but I have to say this now the white musk used by Al Faransi is clearly above average in comparison to all of the white musks I have encountered. The white musk used by Al Faransi showcases the rose and sandalwood notes of white musk. Yes, this scent is clean but at no point have I been reminded of dryer sheets or anything industrial, what I am mainly reminded of is cashmere, cream, and rosewater.

Musk Tahara Al Faransi smells like luxury comfort with a very friendly opening, there is something very warm and welcoming about this scent. At the heart of this scent is a rosewater vanilla laced white musk which keeps the tiniest reminder of delicious hazelnuts going throughout. The beginning reminds me of an Italian style hazelnut cake with has generous portion of lemon zest in it but as time progresses I am reminded of rosewater scented cream all of this plushly supported by Al Faransi's sweet white musk. Musk Tahara Al Faransi glows perfectly on the skin, this is the sort of scent that should have a cult following because it is just so good smelling. Yes, I do intend to buy a bottle of this.

Try Musk Tahara Al Faransi if you like Pearl by Sage Machado, Perfect Veil by Sarah Horowitz Perfums, Musc by Reminiscence, Opal by Sonoma Scent Studio, Vanilla Musk by Kuumba Made, Loukhoum by Ava Luxe or Montale's Musk to Musk.

First image from alfaransi.com
Second Image Alon Alvissar
Last Image from Pinterest.com

SOTD: Pink Suger

I had a long very bad day yesterday, I'm not going to go into details, but right now I need something so uncomplicated and comforting, that for many it is considered well the bimbo of scents: Aquolina Pink Sugar. I'm not going to say it is high-minded, but well I rather like it, I'm too embarrassed to by a bottle, but I do wear my samples. And I enjoy the mix of fluffy white musk, vanilla, and strawberries I get from it. I will also admit that when I was a child I was fan Strawberry Shortcake.

Quote of the Day: There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. -- Sir Francis Bacon, "Of Beauty"

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Cat and Butterfly by Hokusai